ICC suspends top prosecutor Karim Khan over sexual misconduct claims

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, has been suspended over claims of sexual misconduct.

The ICC governing body announced his suspension on Monday evening. This followed a vote by its executive committee to refer the case to the court’s 125 member states. Mr Khan will stay suspended until the states decide on his future in a special session, which the ICC said will happen “as soon as possible.”

This decision is the latest in a case that has been going on for two years.

Claims of sexual misconduct against Mr Khan came to light in 2024. A third party reported his alleged misconduct with a female staff member to the ICC. This led to an investigation by the court’s Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM). Mr Khan faces accusations of non-consensual behaviour over a long period. However, the case was closed after the victim declined to participate, according to the BBC. This closure faced heavy criticism.

Mr Khan has been under US sanctions since 2024 for demanding the arrest of Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. His troubles increased after a second referral in October 2024.

This time, the case was sent to the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) for a wider investigation into claims of sexual misconduct and abuse of authority.

The investigation lasted nearly a year while the ICC faced intense pressure. By December 2025, the OIOS had gathered over 5,000 pages of evidence and testimony. A panel of three judges reviewed this material to decide if Mr Khan’s conduct was serious misconduct.

In 2025, he also took voluntary leave from the ICC to deal with the allegations, which he has repeatedly denied.

According to the BBC, Mr Khan’s lawyers called the decision to suspend him “unlawful, procedurally unfair, and unsupported by evidence.”

His lawyers previously stated that Mr Khan “categorically denies having harassed or mistreated any individual, or having misused his position or authority, or engaged in any conduct that could be interpreted as coercive, exploitative, or professionally inappropriate.”